Flora of North America species comparison

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Prunus dulcis

Prunus texana

almond, almond tree, amandier, sweet almond

peachbush, Texas wild peach
Habit Trees, not suckering, 50–80 dm, not thorny. Shrubs, sometimes suckering, much branched, 5–15 dm, sometimes weakly thorny.
Twigs

with terminal end buds, glabrous.

with axillary end buds, tomentose.
Leaves

deciduous;

petiole (8–)10–25 mm, usually winged distally, glabrous, usually glandular distally or on margins at bases of blades;

blade oblong to lanceolate, 2.5–10 × 1–3 cm, base obtuse, margins crenulate-serrulate to crenate-serrate, teeth blunt, glandular, apex acuminate, surfaces glabrous.

deciduous;

petiole 1–4 mm, tomentose, eglandular;

blade elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 1.1–4 × 0.4–1.1 cm, base cuneate to obtuse, margins dentate, teeth blunt, glandular, glands discoid, apex acute, obtuse, or rounded, abaxial surface hairy to canescent, adaxial hairy.
Inflorescences

solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles.

solitary flowers or 2-flowered fascicles.
Pedicels

1–5 mm, glabrous.

1–5 mm, tomentose.
Flowers

blooming before leaf emergence;

hypanthium cupulate, 4–7 mm, glabrous externally;

sepals erect-spreading to spreading, oblong-ovate, 4–8 mm, margins entire, tomentose, surfaces glabrous;

petals pink to nearly white, obovate, elliptic, or suborbiculate, 12–25 mm;

ovaries hairy.

blooming before or at leaf emergence;

hypanthium campanulate, 2 mm, tomentose externally;

sepals reflexed, triangular, 1–1.7 mm, margins glandular-toothed, surfaces tomentose;

petals white, elliptic, 3–5 mm;

ovaries hairy.
Drupes

gray-green, ovoid-oblong, compressed, 25–40 mm, velutinous;

mesocarps leathery (splitting);

stones ellipsoid, strongly flattened, pitted.

usually yellow to greenish yellow, sometimes tinged with red, ovoid, compressed, 8–15 mm, velutinous;

hypanthium tardily deciduous;

mesocarps fleshy;

stones ovoid, ± flattened.
2n

= 16.

Prunus dulcis

Prunus texana
Phenology Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Jul–Sep. Flowering Feb–Mar; fruiting Apr–Jun.
Habitat Roadsides, canyons, grasslands Deep sand, plains and sand hills, grasslands, oak woods
Elevation 20–500 m (100–1600 ft) 0–200 m (0–700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; WA; w Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The United States now dominates world almond production with over 40% of the annual crop, all of it grown in or near the Central Valley of California. The in-shell “nuts” sold in stores are the pits of drupes with the leathery mesocarp removed. Almond is among the earliest blossoming trees and one of the first signs of spring in areas where it is grown.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Prunus texana is endemic to south-central Texas from the Edwards Plateau southeast to the coastal plain.

Despite the peachlike fruits of Prunus texana, DNA evidence supports its placement among the native American plums (J. Shaw and R. L. Small 2005). The leaf margins look like those of no other North American species of Prunus. The teeth project perpendicular to the margins and are capped with disc-shaped glands.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 9, p. 372. FNA vol. 9, p. 377.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus Rosaceae > subfam. Amygdaloideae > tribe Amygdaleae > Prunus
Sibling taxa
P. americana, P. andersonii, P. angustifolia, P. armeniaca, P. avium, P. caroliniana, P. cerasifera, P. cerasus, P. domestica, P. emarginata, P. eremophila, P. fasciculata, P. fremontii, P. geniculata, P. glandulosa, P. gracilis, P. havardii, P. hortulana, P. ilicifolia, P. laurocerasus, P. lusitanica, P. mahaleb, P. maritima, P. mexicana, P. minutiflora, P. murrayana, P. myrtifolia, P. nigra, P. padus, P. pensylvanica, P. persica, P. pumila, P. rivularis, P. serotina, P. speciosa, P. spinosa, P. subcordata, P. subhirtella, P. texana, P. tomentosa, P. umbellata, P. virginiana, P. yedoensis
P. americana, P. andersonii, P. angustifolia, P. armeniaca, P. avium, P. caroliniana, P. cerasifera, P. cerasus, P. domestica, P. dulcis, P. emarginata, P. eremophila, P. fasciculata, P. fremontii, P. geniculata, P. glandulosa, P. gracilis, P. havardii, P. hortulana, P. ilicifolia, P. laurocerasus, P. lusitanica, P. mahaleb, P. maritima, P. mexicana, P. minutiflora, P. murrayana, P. myrtifolia, P. nigra, P. padus, P. pensylvanica, P. persica, P. pumila, P. rivularis, P. serotina, P. speciosa, P. spinosa, P. subcordata, P. subhirtella, P. tomentosa, P. umbellata, P. virginiana, P. yedoensis
Synonyms Amygdalus dulcis, A. communis, P. amygdalus Amygdalus glandulosa
Name authority (Miller) D. A. Webb: Feddes Repert. 74: 24. (1967) D. Dietrich: Syn. Pl. 3: 45. (1842) — not Prunus glandulosa Thunberg 1784
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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